There’s no curse on ‘La Llorona’
Horror flick bests “Shazam!” at box office.
LOS ANGELES – “The Curse of La Llorona” brought only good fortune to the box office.
The horror film, based on a Mexican legend about a woman who murdered her children and wanders the world looking for them, earned $26.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, putting it in the top spot on its opening weekend – the last before “Avengers: Endgame” arrives to dominate.
“The Curse of La Llorona” ended the two-week reign of “Shazam!” at No. 1. The DC Comics superhero comedy was second with $17.3 million, continuing its strong run with a three-week domestic total of $121.3 million.
The inspirational “Breakthrough,” the first film released by 20th Century Fox since Disney acquired the studio, was third with $11.1 million, a respectable opening for the modestly budgeted faith-based film.
The reign of “La Llorona” won’t last. Its win came on a quiet Easter weekend as studios cleared a path for the wildly anticipated “Endgame,” the Disney and Marvel juggernaut that should disintegrate all competition for several weeks to come.
Easter weekend saw very few new releases – and none with large budgets – giving such smaller films as “La Llorona” a chance to sneak in a few dollars.
“Putting this movie in this sweet spot right before the opening of ‘Endgame’ really paid big dividends,” says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. “It was a brilliant stroke of scheduling.”
The film overcame grim reviews (32% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) to win over audiences. Some scholars and critics also harshly criticized the film for a marketing campaign that involved using
traditional Mexican healers for “spiritual cleansings” before screenings. It was one of three horror films in the top 10 for the weekend (along with “Pet Sematary” and “Us”).
Next week, even though it still will be April, summer essentially begins for Hollywood as Disney looks for “Endgame” to have possibly the biggest opening of all time.
“The summer season usually doesn’t start until the first weekend of May, but Marvel can bend the calendar to their will,” Dergarabedian says. “They can say, ‘We’re going the last Friday in April, here’s your summer.’ “
The receipts for Brie Larson’s “Captain Marvel” surged in its seventh weekend. It brought in $9.1 million and finished fourth, putting it past $400 million in the domestic box office, with audiences likely wanting to take in a small piece of the Marvel cinematic story before “Endgame.”
The body-swap comedy “Little” was fifth in its second week with $8.45 million. “Dumbo” finally crossed the $100 million threshold as it faded to sixth in its fourth week, a disappointing performance for a live-action Disney release.
Final numbers are expected Monday.